To this day, hostile writers use his fervent hunting to ridicule his potential as monarch. The latter was no mere pastime for the archduke, who recorded shooting 274,889 living creatures in his lifetime. But it made him immensely wealthy, allowing him to pursue his passions for collecting antiquities, preserving historical sites, renovating his properties, and hunting. Ironically, the bequest required he learn Italian Franz Ferdinand became famous for his poor linguistic skills and his loathing of Italy. “Mama” showered him with love and lifted his self-esteem.įranz Ferdinand’s next stroke of fortune was material in nature: he inherited the Este estate at age twelve from Francis V, Duke of Modena (1819-1875). The archduke’s first stroke of fortune thus came via his Portuguese stepmother, Maria Theresia, Archduchess of Austria (1855-1944). Sickly and sullen, he lacked attention from his mother, Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1843-1871), who died of tuberculosis when he was seven, and could not compete with the flamboyant Otto, whom his father favored. It was one of many slights that the archduke never forgot, contributing to his lifelong tension with the emperor.įranz Ferdinand’s sensitivities began in childhood. Only in 1898, when doctors declared Franz Ferdinand disease-free, was the title conferred. Stricken with tuberculosis in 1895, Franz Ferdinand was so ill that the court began grooming his younger and more likable brother Otto Franz, Archduke of Austria (1865-1906) for the throne. Yet the emperor neglected to name his nephew as crown prince. But Maximilian forfeited his inheritance when he accepted the crown of Mexico Rudolf committed suicide and Karl Ludwig died in 1896. Ahead of him in line for the throne were Francis Joseph I, Emperor of Austria’s (1830-1916) son Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (1858-1889) and brothers Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico (1833-1896) and Charles Louis, Archduke of Austria (1833-1896), the latter Franz Ferdinand’s father. When he was born in Graz, Austria on 18 December 1863, few would have foreseen Franz Ferdinand as heir apparent. This is unfortunate, because from personal and political perspectives it sheds important light on the Habsburg Monarchy, whose throne he was to inherit, as well as on the origins of World War I. Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este’s (1863-1914) life has been largely overshadowed by his assassination in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.
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